Oxidation of hydrocarbons



5...... M., 8, 1 m 1,668,871 T]UNI TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' oann a. comm, or roar amnion, rms, ASBIGNOB, BY HESHE aasicnnml.

are m arms comm, or new YORK, a. 1., a coaromrxox or nauwm.

v OXIDATION or mtnaocmons.

' Io mam Application med January 20, 1920. Serial Io. cam.

This invention relates to a process of which may result from the more volatile oxidizing hydrocarbons, more particularly acid products of the reaction. The char e the oxidation of paraffin wax. of wax is then heated to about 290330- "An important object of theinventlon 18 or preferably. to about 325 F., and a cu'r-- 5 to oxidize paraflin wax without the forma-' rent of air is blown through the 'melted ac tion of gummy oxidation products insoluble mass. The reaction' gives. off considerable in hydrocarbon oils. heat ,so that no external heat is required f The invention broadly contemplates a to maintain the. desired temperature ofprocess of oxidizing hydrocarbons which 325 F. and it isjevenl necessary to efieet. it) comprises contacting the h drocarbons uncooling of the vessel by a proper system of as p .der the influence of heat with an oxidizing cool water' coils oran equivalent device. 7 gas the reactionbeing carefully controlled Asthe reaction progresses small samples an stopped just short of the point where are periodically removed rom the kettlei the formation of gummy products insoluble and tested for th ir acid value by the in hydrocarbon oil occurs. The invention usual method, When the acid value (ex- '0 further contemplates the separation of the pressed as milligrams of KOlgtrequired to oxidized from the unoxidized portion and neutralize one gram of the oxidized wax) an additional treatment of the latter pOrreaches about .35, the air is cut offend the tion, preferably-in the present of fresh unbatch is ready for furthertreatment. oxidized hydrocarbons. My exper1ments' with the oxidation of x The o'xidation' products of hydrocarbons paraflinv waxhave shown that when the wax; andpart'cularly of p'araflin wax are of im is oxidized under the above temperatures, portance in the manufacture of soaps. It the reaction can be carried to a, fairly defi V as also been ,found that the lubricating nitepoint,"as evidenced by the acid value 25' value 7 of 1 hydrocarbonoils is greatly in: of the product, before there is any substan-' creased-when a portion of properlyoxidize tial formation of thegum-like roducts of I paraffin wax is'com ounded therewlth. In 'amore prolonged oxidation. ile an acid 1 ordinary; methods 0 oxidizing parafiin W value of about 40 may be considered the he m e i is h t 'Whi posed to )1 up r limit to which-the reaction maybe 30 current of air until practically complete ox1 5a ely carried without the. formation. of dation'litake's lace. The procedure yields a gums, I prefer to only carry the oxidation preduct whic usually has very unsat1$fw to an acid value of about 35 which insures y. p p r Tendering tl t h for the complete absence of gummy constituents. compounding with; mineral oils or for use At this point, however, it will be found'that 35 in the manufacture 0f SOEPS (i110 t0 the fact there remains an appreciable P01131011 of the v 7 h th h gh d de ioup ue s are dark wax which has been only ve1 slightly oxicolored, gummy materials insoluble in hy- .dized or has even 'remaine entirely undrocarbon oil. f changed. Such unconverted wax is objec- H i I have discovered rocess whereby hytionable both in soaps and in 'lubricatin 'oils 40 -dr *r .j1partic & y P im W911i y and I therefore prefer to treat the oxi i'zed pI 'e yoxdiz to products sultable charge in ordento separate therefrom the p a for. compounding 'Wi h rica ing i 'unoxidi'zed portion. This separation may for soap making,- without substantial forbest b mpli h d by a sweating promation of... objectionable gummy products. cess similar to that ordinarily. applied to the J-"In carrying on the oxidation 7 of .hydrocarseparation of the various fractions of paraf-' bonsin'- accordanoe with myinvention, I finwax according to their melting" points. prefer toproceed as follows: T j 'The rocess is universally employedin the A charge of. hydrocarbon, say for example tro eum industry and further detailed 1 arafl'm wax-,is' placed in a vessel fitted with es r'iption is not de m nec ry, l 'h g heating and ling coils and means for .suflieient to state th'at,.due to the appreciably introducing air nto the contents. The :ves higher melting point of the unox dized wax .sel is preferably constructedof aluminum orias compared to the oxidizedpor'tion, separa- I at least fitted with analuminum'lining,as'it; -tion' by sweating is convenient and has been determined by experiment that this effective.

e fiectually. rcsistajany corrosive action Y 'Afteryseparation by-sweating lower-C1 10" melting oxidized portions of the wax are available for the various uses to which they are adapted. The product is particularly suitable for compoundin with lubricating oils to improve the la ricating. qualities thereof, for example in the lubrication of br'akeand transmission linings in automobile the invention, the following example is given, it bein understood that the invention 1s notlimite' to the specific conditions and results contained. therein.- In* the example, about 3000 lbs. of parafiin wax havi a melting point of 122-125 F. is placed in a suitable kettle, heated to a temperature of 325 F. and maintained at this temfperature while approximately 6000 cu. ft. 0 air per hour is passed through the molten mass. Samples are withdrawn at regular intervals and tested for their acid value, theresults of which tests given below indicate the prog ress of the reaction.

Tlme in hours. Add value of batch.

The air blast is'discont-inued when an acid value-of about 35 is reached and the oxidized 1: wax may then be .withdrawn from the kettle and may be considered a finished-product suitable for soap making or compounding 'ing approximatel jectionableparaflin cloud with "lubricating oil. However, it is preferable at this point to pump the molten wax to a sweater where it is sub ected to a sweating? or .fractionating operation yield-- 80% oxidized material and 20% Wax w ich is sllghtly 0x1- y dized. The low melting oxi ized portion of.

the wax is free from gummy constituents insoluble in hydrocarbon oils and may be compounded with lubricating oils of low cold testwithout producing therein. an obor haziness at the wax has acquired an 10 hours required for the oxidatipn of the batch given .inthe specific e 'e may be reduced 'by one-half oreven more. In practice the invention maybe applied in the oxidation of various ty s of hydrocarbons -such as viscous oils, igh and low- .melting point waxes and the like.

Pure oxygen may be used although in general, air will be found to be the cheapest and most satisfactory oxidizing 5 available for large scale operations. i l certain cases it may be foundto be advantageous to use higher temperatures than the referred temperatures disclosed but such. igh temperatures increase the tendency toward formation of the gummffihsoluble products, the avoidance of whic is one of the'm'ost important features of this invention.

Obviously many modifications and varia tions of the invention, as hereinbefore set forth, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim: I 1

- 1. The process of preparing oxidized paraflin wax substantially free from gummly products insoluble in hydrocarbon'oil whic comprisesexposing the wax to the action of an oxidizing gas while under the infiuence of heat, discontinuin the oxidation when the product has reac exceeding forty.

2. The'process of oxidizing paraflin wax without the formation of gummy products insoluble in hydrocarbon oil,-wh1ch comprises passing air through the'wax heated to a temperature not ex 330 F; until ceeding forty.

3.'The process of oxidizing parafiin waxwithout the formation of gummy products insoluble in hydrocarbon oilwhich comprises passing air through molten. wax at a substantially constant rate, continuously conducting away theheat of the reaction to maintain the temperature of the wax at 300 F. to 330 F. and continuing the oxidation until the wax has an acid value not exceedmg, forty. V

, n witness whereofI have hereunto set my hand this22nd. day of'Deccmber, 1925.

' JOSEPH R. SCANLIN.

ed anacid value not value not exion 

